 | |
| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| ASX: ABS | |
| Industry | Early Childhood Education |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Fate | voluntary liquidated in 2009, acquired by Goodstart Early Learning |
| Successor | Goodstart Early Learning |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Australia |
Key people | Eddy Groves, CEO |
| Owner | Goodstart Early Learning |
ABC Learning was an Australian company that was once the world's largest provider of early childhood education services. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with its market capitalisation reaching A$2.5 billion in March 2006. The company went into administrative receivership after a fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis caused debt repayments to overwhelm the company, and the auditors failed to sign off on the financial reports citing the need to recast previous year's reported profits.[1]
ABC Learning went into voluntary liquidation in 2008 and was bought by Goodstart Early Learning in December 2009. Goodstart was founded by a partnership of organisations; The Benevolent Society, Mission Australia, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Social Ventures Australia. It operated over 650 former ABC Learning centres across Australia.